


Untold (for a good reason) Tales of Camelot

by tailor31415



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Animal Transformation, Court Sorcerer Merlin, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-08
Updated: 2013-11-08
Packaged: 2017-12-31 21:47:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,067
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1036741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tailor31415/pseuds/tailor31415
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>for barbitone, who specified that "Court sorcerer!Merlin! Or merlin!Merlin (there aren’t enough animal transformation fics imo haha) or an Arthur Knows magic reveal or prince!Merlin or drunk!Merlin and/or Arthur or… basically anything canon era" would be awesome<br/>so here's practically all of that</p>
            </blockquote>





	Untold (for a good reason) Tales of Camelot

**Author's Note:**

  * For [barbitone](https://archiveofourown.org/users/barbitone/gifts).



> Happy birthday, barbitone! Two-mini fics for you, hope you enjoy.

For Court Sorcerer!Merlin:  
Merlin shoved at Arthur’s hands, firmly stating again, “No, Arthur.” 

Arthur drew his lips down in a frown, hands locked on Merlin’s shoulders, and replied, with just a hint of pleading in his tone, “Please, Merlin. For me?”

But Merlin could hear the laughter in his voice too and fixed him with a firm glare. “I won’t do it.”

The king sighed, leaning back for a moment and staring over Merlin’s shoulder at the far wall. With a deep breath, he locked his eyes with Merlin’s again and said softly, “I won’t ask anything of you for the rest of the mon– week. I swear.”

Rolling his eyes, Merlin took the stupid hat off the table behind them and jammed it on his head. “And I’m not buying that not asking me anything thing,” Merlin informed the grinning man. “Before the end of the day, you’ll be asking me to spell your bathwater or magic some wine up from the kitchens, just you watch.”

Arthur gave him a solemn nod, “Of course you know best, Court Sorcerer.”

“Gods,” Merlin muttered under his breath, stalking away from the smug king to find his equally ridiculous court robes, the point of the hat bobbing gently with each step.

 

And Merlin spent the entire welcome ceremony resisting the thoughts of spells that itched his fingers, spells that could transform ears or shave heads or sting smarmy behinds, as one member of the delegation after another spotted him, renowned Court Sorcerer of Camelot, and his hat, and starting smirking and laughing amongst each other. 

And Arthur spent the entire welcome ceremony glancing over at Merlin and giving him a faint smile, one that Merlin resolutely did not return. 

But then, when Mabon looked up from his plate with a twisted smile on his face as the doors slammed open and a swarm of his ‘knights’ rushed in, when they surrounded the finest of Camelot, weaponless at the table, and drew their blades, when Mabon rose and declared he would have Arthur’s head or take those of all here, Merlin thought faintly, ‘Oh.’

And when Arthur sat back in his chair, a pondering expression on his face as he tapped his fingers along the arm, and when Arthur raised his chin and told the warlord no firmly and resolutely, and when Arthur waved off Gwaine and Percival who had started to raise from their chairs, Merlin swayed slightly on his feet from his chosen place in the corner as a soft ‘oh’ fell from his lips.

Because Arthur had been speaking a few nights before as they sipped warm cider before a roaring fire in his chambers, and he had been musing aloud that a man such as Mabon, who had been running rampart in the north where Cenred’s lands had never quite been put to rights, would require more than brute force to be defeated. ‘I’ll have him here,’ he had informed Merlin, ‘And I will show him what it truly means to be a leader.’ And Merlin had waved a hand as smoke started to drift towards them and made a series of small images of an Arthur wearing a crown tripping down the front steps of the courtyard, crown tumbling off his head as he landed on his back, as he had only days before, and Arthur had sent a glare his way, though a smile danced on his lips. ‘Like that, my lord?’ Merlin had teased, and ended up with a face full of, thankfully, luke-warm cider. 

‘Oh,’ Merlin muttered again when Arthur glanced over his shoulder carefully and gave Merlin a practiced wink, ‘Right.’ Because he knew that wink, he knew exactly what that wink meant because it was one of the first things Arthur had brought up when he learned of Merlin’s magic and made him Court Sorcerer. 

His eyes had been shining with something close to boyish glee when he had declared, ‘Finally a party trick besides juggling, eh, Merlin?’

So, Merlin raised his hands and called out the spell at the top of his lungs and Mabon jerked around to stare at him in shock as the room began shaking, as a wind grew from nothing to whip food off the table and tunics over eyes, as the floor began rolling slightly beneath the feet of the intruders.

And as Arthur grinned over at him, gripping tight to the heavy table along with the knights and Camelot nobility, and his eyes were fixed on Merlin as Merlin directed the wind to gather up all those bearing weapons and dumped them neatly in a heap in the corner. 

He spoke again and, with a firm gesture, drew Excalibur from depression in the wall, safely behind a tapestry map of Camelot, where Arthur kept it when it wasn’t belted on in this room and the glinting sword drifted over to Arthur, who caught it as he rose from his chair, and with one smooth motion, placed the naked blade along Mabon’s throat. 

The knights rose with him, drawing their swords from where they had secured them beneath the tabletop, and Mabon was quick to drop his short blade and raise his hands.

 

And later on, Arthur grinned at Merlin as he tugged his shirt off. ‘And you kept the hat on through the whole thing!’ he crowed in delight, catching one arm in the sleeve and struggling for a moment. 

Merlin huffed out a breath and moved to his side, guiding the shirt up and off and folding it gently. ‘Of course, sire,’ he replied, ‘It was what you asked of me.’ 

Arthur smiled at him again as he moved towards the bed. ‘Warm up the covers for me, will you?’ he asked as he started to climb in.

‘No,’ Merlin replied, tugging the hat down off his head. 

The king turned back and glanced over his shoulder. ‘What?’ he asked, mouth gaping open slightly in a way that was entirely satisfying to Merlin at the moment. 

‘You said you wouldn’t ask for a single thing the rest of the week,’ Merlin informed him smugly, placing the pointed hat down on the table. ‘Even if you won’t hold yourself to the promise, I will.’

Arthur frowned at him and then asked, ‘Well, where are you going then?’ as he watched Merlin step towards the door. He waved his hand vaguely at the bed, ‘Aren’t you going to stay?’

‘I’m going to my chambers, where I will warm my blankets and keep my fire strong all night and bask in the freedom of no orders for a week,’ Merlin answered, reaching the door and glancing back over his shoulder. ‘Good night, my lord,’ he added as he firmly shut the door in the face of Arthur’s protests. 

The guard in the hall gave him a small nod and a murmured, ‘Court Sorcerer,’ as Merlin strode down towards his chambers, a grin on his face. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
And separately, drunk!merlin!Merlin:

When Merlin reached out a hand for another tankard, Arthur chuckled and commented, “Might want to slow down there. Don’t want more than you can handle.” 

Merlin, cheeks flushed and swaying slightly on the bench, glared at him and took a long drought from the tankard. “I’ll,” he started, taking another long gulp, “I’ll show you what I can handle.” His words were slurred and he almost missed the table as he released the tankard. 

Arthur watched in amusement as Merlin stood slowly, knees catching on the tabletop and shaking the whole thing, and started stumbling towards the door. “Well?” he shouted across the room, “Get over here, you prat!”

The smile fell off Arthur’s face and he stood himself, dropping several coins on the table, and made his way over to his drunk manservant, shaking his head slightly. “You smell worse than that whole room,” he informed Merlin as they stepped outside. 

“Come on,” Merlin ordered, seemingly ignoring Arthur’s words and grasping him by the arm tightly. He shuffled forward, eyes fixed on the distant trees, and tugged hard on Arthur when he didn’t follow. 

Arthur chuckled when Merlin glanced balefully over his shoulder and started forward as well, letting Merlin pull him towards the start of the forest. “And what are you going to show me precisely?” Arthur asked as they left the bright area of the town. “How much of what can you handle?” he added, voice dropping slightly. 

Merlin stumbled forward, tripping on a rock, and Arthur kept him up with a hand at the back of his neck. His skin was hot, the flush on his cheeks spreading to his ears, and Merlin muttered under his breath, “He doesn’t even know. Thinks he’s so smart but he’s just an idiot.”

“I hope you aren’t talking about your king in such a way,” Arthur said, careful to keep his smile out of his tone, “That’s a day in the stocks at least.”

“Stocks,” Merlin scoffed, nearly running into a tree, “Could get rid of the stocks in a blink of an eye if I really wanted.” Arthur sucked in a breath as he stared at the back of Merlin’s head, because was he really saying what Arthur thought? “Only let you put me in there ‘cause I know you like to look at my arse.”

“Merlin!” Arthur exclaimed, drawing up short in a clearing lit brightly by the full moon above.

Merlin gave him a sultry smile that Arthur hoped was an accident, because it was a frightening expression on Merlin’s face, and he added in a low voice, “I don’t mind that you do.”

“Gods,” Arthur groaned, running a hand through his hair, “You are so drunk.”

“Am not!” Merlin protested, straightening up and then falling back a few steps to lean against a tree. “I’ll show you how not drunk I am!” he cried, raising a hand. 

“Merlin, wait –” Arthur started as Merlin’s eyes flashed gold. 

He sighed when there was a bright flash of light and blinked back the spots until he could see the tree again. And Merlin…who wasn’t there. 

“Merlin?” he called, turning slightly and glancing around the clearing, “Didn’t Gaius ever tell you not to use magic while drunk? You really are an idiot.” 

There was a sharp cry behind him and he turned to see, well, Merlin, as a merlin. Sighing again, Arthur gathered up the bird in his arms, muttering, “Did you even consider what being drunk as a bird would be like? You better not die in my arms.” 

Merlin gave a soft cry and snuggled into his chest. “Ouch,” Arthur snapped when Merlin’s talons caught on his finger. He gently tucked the sharp talons towards the sleeve of his jacket and pulled Merlin in closer. “It’s the middle of winter, not the best time to be fluttering around as a bird,” he informed his passenger as he started through the town. 

He nodded as regally as he could to the patrolling guards, willing them to look away from the bird in his arms – because a hawk was one thing, but a merlin was traditionally for the more delicate of falconers – and started across the courtyard. “You’d think you’d save your first spell in front of me for something spectacular.” Merlin chirped slightly and Arthur conceded, “Turning into a merlin is quite clever, but more useful when you’re actually capable of moving yourself, don’t you think?”

Merlin turned his beak to press into the fabric above Arthur’s heart and Arthur rolled his eyes. “You make it very hard to stay mad at you,” he mused, fingers stroking along the feathers of Merlin’s wing. 

He still turned to Gaius’ chambers, and placed the merlin gently down on the table away from any mysteriously bubbling pots and gestured at him as Gaius took a step forward. The man went pale as he glanced between the bird and Arthur and Arthur rolled his eyes. “If I cared, I would have left him outside,” Arthur declared. He turned towards the door and called over his shoulder, “But do send him to my chambers at the first light of dawn. I want to see exactly what he can do like that.” 

And hopefully Gaius wouldn’t mention the fierce grin of his face at that statement – all the more surprise for Merlin when Arthur sent him out for yet another vole or mouse or squirmy snake.

**Author's Note:**

> tada, thanks for reading  
> as always, I own nothing


End file.
